Overview
- Two independent teams published confirmation on July 15, 2026 that a previously unseen gas giant, Beta Pictoris d, orbits the nearby star Beta Pictoris.
- The planet was detected separately by ESO’s Very Large Telescope using ERIS with machine‑learning image processing and by JWST’s NIRSpec integral‑field spectroscopy, with both groups finding the signal in archival data going back about 11 years.
- Measured properties place Beta Pictoris d at roughly 2.4 times Jupiter’s mass on an orbit of about 91 years and make it the faintest exoplanet ever directly imaged from the ground, about 100 times dimmer than Beta Pictoris b.
- JWST spectra show molecular features including carbon monoxide, water vapor and methane, and the planet’s mass and position help explain previously puzzling structures in the system’s debris disk.
- Researchers say the find validates combining spectroscopy, advanced image processing and archival searches and sets up targeted follow‑up with current facilities and planned Extremely Large Telescopes to refine the planet’s orbit and atmosphere.